Dominic Smith

Critical Praise:

The Beautiful Miscellaneous

Booklist (starred review):
"This unusual, gorgeously written novel is filled with pleasures...Best of all, though, is the book’s invitation to wonder--about the imponderables of life and death, the nature of intelligence, and the ultimately inexplicable relationships of fathers and sons."

Kirkus Reviews:
"...[a] finely modulated second novel...the unerringly true dialogue is a delight...a luminous addition to novels about fathers and sons..."

The Boston Globe:
"[Smith] conjures Nathan's colorful, mysterious new existence with vivid detail. The real story in this touching, gracefully wrought novel lies around the edges of the plot. It is really about the weight of family dreams and expectations..."

People Magazine (four stars):
"Fantastic...an utterly fresh look at how a child can grow beyond parental expectations and find the genius of being himself."

The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre

The New York Times Book Review:
"Highly entertaining...Smith is fascinating and writes vividly...[he] has a talent for descriptive imagery..."

Los Angeles Times:
"Smith writes beautifully of Daguerre's fascination with light...[and] refreshes our eyes. In a world awash in photographs, he makes us marvel anew at these efforts to outwit mortality, these "mirrors with a memory."

Kirkus Reviews (starred review):
"Smith's beautifully written debut...A compelling psychological study, a thoughtful tracing of the birth of a new art form and an atmospheric portrait of 19th-century France: impressive on all three counts."

The Boston Globe:
"[a] lyrical debut novel...poetic and darkly romantic...a fully imagined and wildly sensual world..."

Dallas Morning News:
"[a novel] full of hallucinatory and beautifully rendered images...a richly promising start to the literary career of Mr. Smith."

The Austin Chronicle:
"Smith writes with the fastidiousness of a miniaturist, and even the smallest details are intricately painted...each page promises uncommon and beautiful words..."

Austin American-Statesman:
"...a striking meditation on memories and photography...luminous prose...poetic language used in service of novelistic intent..."

Detroit Free Press:
"[a] vibrant first novel...Smith has an artist's eye and gives Daguerre an artist's heart."

Dominic is the author of two novels, The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre and The Beautiful Miscellaneous. Please visit the Works page for information about both books and Dominic's published short stories.